Hi all. I haven't been to this forum in a very, very long time. My old computor died, and I lost all my bookmarks.
Anyway, I would love to tell you this story, and also set forth a challenge.
There is a pet forum that was designed to tell stories, boast and brag about your pets, etc... but it turned into nothing more than a national classified ad forum for selling and rehoming pets. I was very angry that it turned into this, but, what could I do? I continued receiving every post in my email, which I would simply delete them all each day. After 10 months of getting these posts, one caught my eye, and I opened it and read it. Someone was trying to rehome a 7 year old yorkie, spayed female. I already have 3 dogs, and I needed a 4th like a hole in the head. But I emailed the poster, and explained how it was unusual to even read these posts. I offered, that if she did not place the dog in a reasonable amount of time, that I would love to take her and keep her here with me. After about 6 weeks, I got Toto.
When I agreed to take her, I knew nothing about her, only that she was small, about 6 pounds, and she was sweet. Once she got here, I immediately took her to the vet. She was covered with fleas, so we used proper medicines to take care of that, and also medicine to help her stop chewing and scratching herself all the time. We also wormed her for everything. Other than that, she was in pretty good health... except....
She had a little neurological damage, probably a head injury was the vet's guess. After I had her about 2 months, I finally found out the entire story of her life. I know this is already long, and I will try to keep the details brief.
1. She was part of a puppy mill up in North Carolina and lived her life in a cage, and was bred every single heat starting at just over a year old.
2. At 5 1/2 years old, she had to have an emergency c-section, but still lost all her babies... the vet, god bless him, spayed her so they could not keep abusing her.
3. The male in the household, got so angry with Toto because she lost every puppy, that he kicked her HARD, and she hit the wall. :yikes: From that she got a head injury, and now lifelong neurological deficit.
4. A woman who (kind of) knew this husband and wife team, had heard they had 17 dogs no longer usable for breeding, and they were going to dispose of them. Most were not fixed, so this lady took all 17 dogs... they were all small breeds.
5. The woman who took them is a hoarder (which I found out later). She did manage to get everyone fixed thru free spay/neuter clinics in her area. Once all were done, she began rehoming all those dogs she took. (Don't get me wrong, she did a beautiful thing by taking all those dogs, but since I got Toto, she has begun acquiring more puppies already).
Now, After 2 months or more, Toto is happy for the first time in her life. She has the freedom to roam the house, which she does more and more everyday. She has reverted to puppy behavior, which I think is awesome! as she is now getting the life she should have had from a puppy, and she loves me so much! And of course, I, her!
Now here is my challenge. IF you are planning on buying a puppy, and when you go look at it, you will know right away if it is a puppy mill or a backyard breeder. I will not suggest to anyone they do not get a puppy if that's what their heart is set on, however: Ask if there are any adults they are "done with" that you could take also with your puppy. You will have the challenges of housebreaking the adult dog also, but you are already doing that for your puppy. And when you free a dog from a lifetime in a cage, you kind of become their dog bed... LOL.
I have a few pics of her on Kodak Gallery that I would love for all of you too see. The comments on the picks will tell you where we were since I got her, and it is best viewed in "slideshow mode".
http://http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/photoPicker/albums.jsp
Anyway, I would love to tell you this story, and also set forth a challenge.
There is a pet forum that was designed to tell stories, boast and brag about your pets, etc... but it turned into nothing more than a national classified ad forum for selling and rehoming pets. I was very angry that it turned into this, but, what could I do? I continued receiving every post in my email, which I would simply delete them all each day. After 10 months of getting these posts, one caught my eye, and I opened it and read it. Someone was trying to rehome a 7 year old yorkie, spayed female. I already have 3 dogs, and I needed a 4th like a hole in the head. But I emailed the poster, and explained how it was unusual to even read these posts. I offered, that if she did not place the dog in a reasonable amount of time, that I would love to take her and keep her here with me. After about 6 weeks, I got Toto.
When I agreed to take her, I knew nothing about her, only that she was small, about 6 pounds, and she was sweet. Once she got here, I immediately took her to the vet. She was covered with fleas, so we used proper medicines to take care of that, and also medicine to help her stop chewing and scratching herself all the time. We also wormed her for everything. Other than that, she was in pretty good health... except....
She had a little neurological damage, probably a head injury was the vet's guess. After I had her about 2 months, I finally found out the entire story of her life. I know this is already long, and I will try to keep the details brief.
1. She was part of a puppy mill up in North Carolina and lived her life in a cage, and was bred every single heat starting at just over a year old.
2. At 5 1/2 years old, she had to have an emergency c-section, but still lost all her babies... the vet, god bless him, spayed her so they could not keep abusing her.
3. The male in the household, got so angry with Toto because she lost every puppy, that he kicked her HARD, and she hit the wall. :yikes: From that she got a head injury, and now lifelong neurological deficit.
4. A woman who (kind of) knew this husband and wife team, had heard they had 17 dogs no longer usable for breeding, and they were going to dispose of them. Most were not fixed, so this lady took all 17 dogs... they were all small breeds.
5. The woman who took them is a hoarder (which I found out later). She did manage to get everyone fixed thru free spay/neuter clinics in her area. Once all were done, she began rehoming all those dogs she took. (Don't get me wrong, she did a beautiful thing by taking all those dogs, but since I got Toto, she has begun acquiring more puppies already).
Now, After 2 months or more, Toto is happy for the first time in her life. She has the freedom to roam the house, which she does more and more everyday. She has reverted to puppy behavior, which I think is awesome! as she is now getting the life she should have had from a puppy, and she loves me so much! And of course, I, her!
Now here is my challenge. IF you are planning on buying a puppy, and when you go look at it, you will know right away if it is a puppy mill or a backyard breeder. I will not suggest to anyone they do not get a puppy if that's what their heart is set on, however: Ask if there are any adults they are "done with" that you could take also with your puppy. You will have the challenges of housebreaking the adult dog also, but you are already doing that for your puppy. And when you free a dog from a lifetime in a cage, you kind of become their dog bed... LOL.
I have a few pics of her on Kodak Gallery that I would love for all of you too see. The comments on the picks will tell you where we were since I got her, and it is best viewed in "slideshow mode".
http://http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/photoPicker/albums.jsp